I Miss When Video Games Were Simply.. Video Games

I have just beaten Far Cry 3, a game I spent 25 hours on, every minute was a blast to play filled with many memorable, laugh-out-loud moments. I am currently also going through the original Ratchet & Clank games from the PS2 era, and feeling an absolute child again. 

I also managed to put 100+ hours into Octopath Traveller 2 this year, a game that’s a tribute to classic JRPG games on the SNES. Other things I’ve been playing are short beat -em up arcade-style classics like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge in local coop style with my partner. For the record, I am a husband with a full-time job, and other hobbies and go out to socialize regularly. That’s just for context that I no longer have the time in the world anymore for gaming compared to when I was a teenager.

..and lately, when I try to pick up these award-winning, content-heavy modern open-world games such as Ghost of Tsushima, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth or even Horizon Forbidden West, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, these games are masterpieces in their own right, with breathtaking visuals and deep, immersive worlds, voice acting and more. Yet, somewhere along the way, they eventually start to feel more like a chore than play. 

I started questioning if I’m becoming an old gamer who can only get a thrill out of looking nostalgia? But a lot of these games I’m recently completing I’m experiencing for the first time, so it’s not like there was any past bias attached. Help! I don’t wish to become one of those grumpy older gamers who hates all modern games and over-hypes up all the classics like they were perfection in comparison! 

This piece is not about how retro games were better, I’m not here to pit up generations, systems, genres or whatever. But rather, as to what I think made retro games (or games with their spirit) so much fun. And that’s when video games embrace their identity as, well, video games. 

Chasing the Endless- Endgame

Plenty of modern games often demand so much of our time and money that the sense of reward or completion becomes elusive. 

Unlike the straightforward satisfaction of finishing a campaign or beating a boss in older games, today’s titles frequently stretch out the experience with endless side quests, microtransactions, and post-launch DLCs. The result is a feeling that you’re never truly done—there’s always one more thing to unlock, one more expansion to buy, or one more grind to endure. 

This constant push for more content can make it feel like we’re chasing an ever-moving finish line, rather than enjoying the simple pleasure of reaching the end goal. Instead of feeling accomplished, we’re often left feeling exhausted, wondering if we’ll ever actually see the credits roll.

Modern Games That Hijacks Our Gaming Hobby

Take any recent open-world game, for example. You’re dropped into a beautifully crafted world, but before you know it, your map is littered with hundreds of icons, each representing a quest, side mission, or collectible. 

The main campaign itself is often a sprawling, 50+ hour affair (not to mention padded throughout with meaningless quests) with a story that’s as intricate as it is lengthy. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, the developers hit you with downloadable content (DLC) that extends the game even further. But it doesn’t feel like a bonus—it feels like a chore. It’s as if these games are designed to keep you hooked with endless “content. These content and side quests felt like they were designed to be addicting to keep you playing way more hours than you need to fully get all the rewards and see the highlights of the game that reviewers like IGN are talking about giving it a “10”.

But the only problem with that, is that we don’t all do this for a living! We play video games as a hobby. And I am made to feel absolute FOMO when I miss out on a game’s best moments because I didn’t complete missions X-Y-Z with the specific requirements. And does every game need “stealth” and a “deep crafting system”?

Ghost of Tsushima

The best example and most recent example of my experience with this is Ghost of Tsushima. I love, looove the art direction and entire visuals of this game. The gameplay is smooth, the story engaging, and the world is breathtaking to traverse around. The missions, which initially felt fresh and engaging, started to blur together as I progressed. It became a cycle of liberating yet another village, clearing out yet another Mongol camp, and following the same patterns of chasing foxes over and over. 

The world was stunning, the combat satisfying, but the repetitive nature of the tasks eventually drained some of the excitement. Instead of feeling like a samurai on an epic journey, I felt like I was stuck in a loop, checking off boxes rather than truly experiencing a one-of-a-kind adventure. 

Bring Back Over-The-Top, Wacky Games

Remember when games were just, well, games? I’m talking about the late '90s and the 2000s, a time when developers didn’t feel the need to make everything a life-altering cinematic experience. Back then, games embraced their identity as pure entertainment, often leaning into the absurd and over-the-top rather than trying to be epic movies or simulate real life. Take Kingdom Hearts, for instance—a game where Disney characters teamed up with Final Fantasy heroes in a storyline that was as nonsensical as it was delightful. Who cared if the plot didn’t make sense? It was an innovative moment in gaming that’ll never happen today! 

Or thinking about my time with Far Cry 3, where the developer’s goal was to simply drop you into a chaotic, ridiculous sandbox where you could wreak havoc in the most outrageous ways. These games didn’t ask much from you. You could pick them up to play for 20 minutes or 3 hours straight, you’ll get some sort of satisfaction! 

There was no need to master complex mechanics or commit to a 100-hour epic saga. Whether you were grinding rails for a Jackass stunt the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater: American Wasteland PS2 games or seeing all the ridiculous car crash combos you can create in Burnout 3, these games were laser-focused on one thing: delivering a goofy, over-the-top experience that didn’t take itself too seriously.

Because they weren’t trying to do everything, they excelled at what they did. These games weren’t about crafting checking boxes every genre requirement when it came to gameplay — back then fighting games were fighting games, platformers were platformers, and shooters were just shooters. 

Beyond Realism

In no way I’m saying we should abandon the amazing advancements we’ve made and all games suck today—there’s a place for every Witcher 3 copycat and Final Fantasy Rebirths of the world. But aside from indie games which I play a lot of, I'd like to see more Triple AAA titles that we can just pick up and play without needing to dedicate a chunk of our lives to them. Games that aren’t trying to be everything all at once. Stellar Blade is another good example that I recently completed and just adored! 

We need more titles that embrace their identity as video games, that focus on fun over realism. More games that are innovative, and challenge our imagination to remind us why we picked up a controller in the first place.